Covalent Bonds

Science fiction is full of stories of the geek guy getting the woman of his dreams; this anthology sets out to balance that with tales of geeky women landing superhot guys. Heroines include a computer nerd (“The Hacked Match” by Wendy Sparrow), a hardcore online gamer (“Addie-cted” by Charlotte M. Ray), and a tabletop gamer (“Critical Hit” by Cori Vidae), all of whom know what they want and aren’t afraid to reach for him. Some stories are full-fledged romances with happily-ever-afters (such as Mara Malin’s “Classification of Nerd”); others end on the first blush of romance (as in “Better than Chocolate” by Tellulah Darling). Likewise, some are sweet enough to satisfy any romance reader while others are written with apparent ignorance of romance genre conventions, leaving them feeling strangely incomplete. The collection lacks clear aim, targeted to neither science fiction fans nor romance readers, but those who appreciate both genres will find this a rare chance to enjoy two of their favorite subjects in one fun collection. (Feb.)